December 2009

15th December 2009

10:47 AM — An Islington registrar who refused to carry out civil partnerships for gay couples has lost her appeal. The Court of Appeal ruled today that Lillian Ladele had not been discriminated against.

10:27 AM — Gay singer Elton John has said he cannot guarantee the Labour Party his vote. Speaking to the Daily Telegraph's Mandrake column at his AIDS Foundation Winter Ball, the star said he did not feel Brown had grasped the "extent" of the rise in HIV infections.

14th December 2009

7:20 PM — Joe McElderry, the 18-year-old winner of this year's X Factor contest, was reportedly subjected to homophobic bullying at school. The singer, who won victory last night with 61 per cent of the vote, was called 'gay boy' at school, an ex-girlfriend said.

7:11 PM — A man who made his neighbours' lives hell has been served with a 56-day eviction notice. Richard Leonard, 57, of Baldmoor Lake Road, Erdington, had been accused of waging a homophobic and anti-social hate campaign against his neighbours since May.

4:18 PM — A straight Scottish teacher who tried to make a claim for homophobic harassment has lost his case. James Campbell, who worked at at Denny High School, claimed that the homophobic insults he received amount to sexual orientation discrimination, despite being straight.

3:36 PM — Lesbian author Jeanette Winterson has attacked the 'negative' use of the word lesbian in newspapers. Writing on her blog, the Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit author complained that tabloids tended to emphasise the sexual orientation of gay or lesbian criminals.

2:12 PM — The Jamaican reggae star Buju Banton is in custody pending charges of drug offences. The singer, who has been condemned for lyrics calling for gays to be killed, was arrested in Miami on Thursday.

12:36 PM — A coalition of liberal religious and social justice groups is calling on the House of Lords to reject religious opt-outs from the Equality Bill. The bill is scheduled for its second reading in the Lords tomorrow.

11:19 AM — Annise Parker, an out lesbian, has been elected mayor of Houston, Texas. The vote makes the city the largest in the US to elect an openly gay mayor. Parker won against city attorney Gene Locke by 53.6 per cent of the vote.

11th December 2009

6:39 PM — Liberal Anglicans are calling for Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams to retract comments he made on the selection of a US lesbian bishop. They are demanding he speaks out about Uganda's anti-homosexuality bill instead.

6:15 PM — The London Gay Men's Chorus will be singing at London mayor Boris Johnson's Christmas carol service at Southwark Cathedral next week. It will be the first time the chorus, which is the largest gay men's singing group in Europe, has sung at this event.

5:36 PM — The extreme-right group National Front has been accused of placing homophobic stickers around the Canal Street area of Manchester. The stickers began appearing several weeks ago in the popular gay village.

3:44 PM — Two female teachers in Brooklyn, New York, are under investigation after they were allegedly found naked in a classroom. A janitor reported the pair to the school, believing they were students.

3:24 PM — The straight couple who are challenging the ban on heterosexuals having civil partnerships are looking for a gay couple to join their fight. They hope to challenge the ban in the European Court of Human Rights.

1:06 PM — Controversial US pastor Rick Warren has finally released a statement criticising Uganda's anti-homosexuality bill. Warren had been slow to condemn the drastic law and some critics had suggested he supported and even sponsored it.

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